Media Agency for Development and Implementation of Media Broadcast Plan for Sodium Reduction Campaign

Development and implementation of media broadcast plan for sodium reduction campaign

Background

According to WHO estimation, the deaths caused by cardio-vascular diseases (CVDs) mainly strokes and heart attack account for 31% of total deaths in Viet Nam. Hypertension is very important cause of CVDs and excessive use of salt is a critical risk factors of hypertension. According to non-communicable disease (NCD) risk factors survey (STEPS) in 2015, on average Vietnamese people consume 9.4gram salt/person/day, which is almost double than WHO recommendation- less than 5gram/person/day. Raising public awareness on salt intake reduction through national campaign is one of best buy interventions recommended by WHO for prevention and control of NCD. Since late 2019, WHO has worked with the Resolve To Save Lives (RTSL) an initiative of the Vital Strategies to implement a national mass media campaign to reduce sodium consumption across the population from May to July 2020. The campaign seeks to contribute to a reduction of average population salt intake by 15% by 2020 compared to 2015.

Primary target audience

The primary target audience for the sodium reduction campaign will be food preparers in the home who tend to be key influencers regarding dietary sodium consumption and health in the household – women aged 25 – 65 years.

Secondary audiences

Secondary audiences for the campaign will be other household members who may influence sodium use by the main food preparer and should also be educated about the need for reduced sodium consumption to increase their receptiveness to changes in food preparation in the household. This audience will include men aged 25-65 years.

To prepare for the campaign, a TV spot is being developed by the Vital Strategies, WHO and Ministry of Health with the key message being to reduce salt consumption by half through adding less salt during cooking, dipping lightly and reducing consumption of salty food (processed food) to prevent and control hypertension and stroke. For evaluation of the campaign, we will apply pre and post survey and we have the plan and tools for evaluation survey completed. Now we are looking for a capable media agency to broadcast the TV spot effectively and efficiently.

Objectives of the activity

To raise awareness of the public about salt intake reduction to prevent and control hypertension and stroke.

Timelines: